BIO Gilles Dusabe holds university diplomas in visual art from the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland (B.A.), the Center for Contemporary Art Kitakyushu in Japan and the Académie royale des beaux-arts de Bruxelles in Belgium (M.A.). His work has been exhibited in Europe, Rwanda, Brazil, Korea and the United States.
ARTISTIC PRACTICE What motivates Gilles Dusabe’s artistic practice is reflecting the current global reality artistically (work by work) on a daily basis (day by day). He believes that artists should engage with current events and not let only the press and historians shape history and archiving. Current events can be disturbing, joyful, sad, shocking, revolting or astonishing. They connect us with the local, regional, continental and global world and enable us to situate ourselves and be aware of the state of the world and our planet. But everything depends on the medium read, because the press is not neutral. We must bring a critical spirit to any particular article or event.
PROJECT Gilles Dusabe’s project consists in creating one painting per day, inspired by the conceptual work of the artist On Kawara. Each morning, Dusabe will read newspaper articles from around the world and then decide what current event he wishes to depict, in an abstract or figurative manner but using a realistic approach. He will then transmit his work and sometimes the article read to Anita Munyaneza, a Rwandan writer based in Brussels, who will write a text to put the painting into words. Interactions and discussions around this article can be initiated with the public to exchange views on the various themes underlying the encounters. One month: thirty days, thirty articles, thirty paintings, thirty texts, thirty public discussions, but a multitude of encounters. These conversations may modify the artwork being created over the course of the day.
